A soldier training on the island of Gotland during Aurora 17. Credit: Anders Wiklund/TT

Military takes stock of Aurora 17 exercise

2:32 min

Published tisdag 14 november 2017 kl 14.10

Major-General Bengt Andersson told Radio Sweden the Aurora 17 exercise went better than expected. However, there is a need to improve the Armed Forces' logistics, transport and communication systems.

The Aurora 17 military exercise, which ended on 29 September, gathered approximately 22,000 staff to respond to a simulation of an armed attack on Sweden. Most of the participants were from the Swedish Armed Forces, but roughly 2,000 joined from the US, France, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Baltic states.

On Tuesday, Supreme Commander Micael Bydén and Major-General Bengt Andersson said the forces are now more prepared than ever to respond to threats in what they consider a somewhat destabilised Baltic sea region.

There are many many lessons. There wasn't anything that didn't go well, but we have to learn [more] about our operation transports, long-haul transports and communication systems.

Major-General Bengt Andersson

Supreme Commander Bydén added that going forward, they need to think about increasing the volume of so-called "transport resources", in order to have enough food and health supplies in place.

Now, the Armed Forces are expecting a SEK 2.7 billion funding boost over the next three years, following the government's autumn budget. They are also gearing up for a total defence exercise in 2020.